The Right Stuff: Robert Crippen & Sandra Magnus

A Rare Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Shuttle Flights

Jim Clash: You must have had mixed feelings about being on the very last Shuttle flight.

Sandra Magnus: I felt very honored, but when training, you are focused on what you need to do for that mission. We were in a unique circumstance because not only were we the last Shuttle flight, but we were a four-person crew doing the job of six or seven people. The other strange thing is we were involved in a lot of lasts -- the last time we’re using this facility, the last time we’re running that milestone event. So we were constantly saying goodbye to trainers and the people who supported us. As we were going through the milestones, people were getting laid off behind us.

JC: That really brought it home, huh?

Sandra Magnus: Yeah, it did. I have to compliment the NASA workforce because everyone who stayed until the very end of the Shuttle program stayed because they wanted to make the last mission safe. They knew they were losing their jobs as soon as their particular expertise was not needed and, to a person, everybody was upbeat. We never ran into bitterness or negativity from those who sacrificed so much to finish out the program strong.

JC: With Space X’s recent success supplying ISS with cargo, are you more confident private industry can pick up where the government has left off?

Sandra Magnus: I hope they can. Our job as a government agency is to expand boundaries. If we have done it right and private industry is ready to take over low-Earth orbit, that mandates we continue pushing further. It’s taken a long time for technology, politics and the way we think as human beings to get to the point where space is becoming a common thing. Airplanes were able to develop a lot more quickly because that was less hard. If you talk to anybody at NASA, you will find we are delighted about pushing boundaries further. So I am very hopeful that they are all successful.

JC: Take us back to 2003, when Columbia broke apart on reentry.

Sandra Magnus: I was getting ready to run a 5K road race in south Houston. There was a local crowd there, with several of us from the office. Just as the race was to start, people in contact with mission control grabbed us and said, “Hey, you need to call into work,” so we just went in. I remember my first thought after they said, “We lost the Shuttle.” It was, “How could you lose the Shuttle? It’s really huge -- it’s got a big radar signature.” It never crossed my mind that it was lost in the sense we know it was today. Challenger had us focus more on the ascent side, and that was the time you watched your friends -- at launch. After, of course, we watched both parts of the flight with anxiety. NASA has made space flight look easy over the years with meticulous processes and dedicated work forces -- from the lowest to the highest. But it’s not easy.

JC: Did the accident make you think about not flying again?

Sandra Magnus: Of course we were all horrified, but it never made me think twice about being an astronaut. We understand the risks and are prepared to accept them or we wouldn’t do the job. It’s harder for the families, actually. I have control over my destiny -- I am accepting risk for myself -- but you are also accepting risk for your family. And they don’t have control over their destiny -- they’re sort of caught in your wake.

JC: Sally Ride was the first American woman in space and Kathryn Sullivan was the first American woman to walk in space. Were they role models for you?

Sandra Magnus: I had wanted to be an astronaut since middle school. Right before I started high school, there was an article in the local paper about the first class of women astronauts selected in 1978. I remember looking at the paper, thinking, “Oh, my gosh, there is a path for me,” because I expected to have to break down doors as a girl. I was really tickled when I became an astronaut many years later and shared an office with Shannon Lucid, a member of that class! I’ve also talked to Sally Ride several times, and Kathy Sullivan recently. These are great women. I cannot thank them enough for blazing those doors down because the environment they lived in -- and the one I live in -- are totally different. A lot of that has to do with the hard work and dedication they had pursuing their dreams.

JC: Is it any different being a woman up there when the rest of the crew are men?

Sandra Magnus: No, you’re up there to do a job and you do the job. You do get very close to your crew -- for example, with Fergie [Chris Ferguson], Doug [Hurley] and Rex [Walheim], I feel like I have three new brothers. You have to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses to mesh as a strong team. And you have fun, too, because you are all up there living the dream.

JC: Your advice for kids today?

Sandra Magnus: The first thing is to believe in yourself. Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do something. Find your passion and follow it. I talk to students all the time. The opportunities that they -- the middle school kids now -- will have I can’t even begin to guess. But we tend to underestimate ourselves, whether we’re young men or young women. Don’t limit yourself. If you have a big dream, work toward it. If it’s your passion, you’re going to do well, excel and succeed.

JC: You had seen pictures, of course, before your first mission in 2002, but what was your first actual view of Earth like?

Sandra Magnus: This is a good story because I was flight engineer on my first mission. Immediately after we reached MECO -- main engine cutoff -- we floated out of our seats. My job was to open the panel bay doors. We fly with the doors facing us, so as soon as I opened them, I had a view of Earth. The first words out of my mouth, without even thinking, were: “Oh, my goodness, our atmosphere is so thin!” Now think about that -- we all know it intellectually. Everyone’s followed the Mount Everest climbs and the fact that supplemental oxygen is needed not that far off the surface. But to see it! Experiential knowledge makes such a strong impact. And to see this sphere with an incredibly thin eggshell of air makes you realize we cannot take this place for granted. It is our spaceship. It is easy when you’re here, on the ground, to see the hugeness of everything. But in space, you see the fragile aspect of a system that supports all of the life we have.

JC: Other than the thin atmosphere, what else struck you about the view?

Sandra Magnus: When I speak at schools, the kids ask, “Do you have TV in space?” When you say no, they ask if you get bored. I say, “No, I don’t, I look out the window because vistas are constantly changing.” One of my favorite times in orbit is when we transition from day to night. Sunrise is very bright -- the light is harsh and it is hard to look at and appreciate. But at sunset, you go from sky-blue colors with white puffy clouds to a royal blue, then to a blue, then a navy blue, then a magenta blue, then a blue purple, then a purple brown and finally a purple black -- and you have this all in the space of just a few minutes.